Sunday, December 27, 2009

The journey to Machu Picchu started in Cuzco at 8 a.m. and involved several buses and shared taxis and ended with a 2 hour walk along the train tracks arriving in Machu Picchu Pueblo (the town formerly known as Aguas Calientes) after dark. We took the alternative route described above because the train to Machu Picchu is expensive and this way only cost us a total of 33 soles (about 10 dollars) each.

Unfortunately we arrived at Machu Picchu in the peak of tourist season. Because we wanted to hike Wayna Picchu, a hill overlooking Machu Picchu, we got up at 4:00am to hike the hour up to the site entrance. Only 400 people a day are allowed to hike Wayna Picchu and despite the rain there were already ~200 people in line when we arrived at 5:00 am. By the time the first buses arrived at 6:00am there were already ~500 people in line. As the gates to the site opened, there was a stampede to get to the entrance of Wayna Picchu where we needed to line up again for an hour while we waited for that entrance to open.

5:00AM: Waiting for the site to open.

6:00AM: First busloads of people start to arrive.

6:05AM: The sprint to line up at the entrance to Wayna Picchu.

The line-up at the gate to Wayna Picchu

Early morning at the site, before most of the thousands of daily tourists have arrived.

Tiny orchids

Climbing the lesser-known Huchuypicchu peak

View of the site from Huchuypicchu

Climbing very old steps up Wayna Picchu.

We found this Milky Way bar, which just happened to be made in Canada, and brought it to the summit of Wayna Picchu.

Unfortunately we got our only day of pouring rain during our time in Peru on the day we were in Machu Picchu, despite it being the dry season. Most of the time the view from Wayna Picchu was completely obscured by clouds. This shot was taken during a brief clearing.

A little bit of yoga on Wayna Picchu

Wild begonias

Wild strawberry plant

Some of the fluorescent-rain-poncho-clad hoard.

The preservation of the incredible Inca architecture and the setting of the site make it a remarkable place. It is no wonder that so many people from around the world dream to visit. However, when departing the site we both agreed that Machu Picchu is one place where we never wish to return. This is because of the sharks that live and work in the town below. These were hands down the most rude, mean-hearted and money-hungry people we encountered anywhere. In a country and continent that has so much to offer we would much rather spend our time and money elsewhere.

Welcome to our travel blog. Our amazing trip through Latin America came to an end in December 2009 and we are currently living in Australia. However, we will continue to publish posts every few days until we are caught up.

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Our route

View Josh and Laura´s Journey in a larger map
An interactive map of our route to date. Our Google map account seems to be a little overloaded now so to see our entire route click "View Josh and Laura's Journey in a larger map." You may alternatively click and drag this mini map to see where we are now. While our photos are typically months behind we tend to keep the map relatively current.
Blue lines are by bus or carRed lines are by boatGreen lines are by foot or bikeOrange lines are by trainPurple lines are by planePlacemarkers represent places where we have spent at least one night.